Mandated under Constitution: Supreme Court on Bihar voter list revision
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar is constitutionally mandated. The observation came during the hearing of multiple petitions challenging the timing and intent of the revision ahead of the crucial Assembly elections scheduled for October–November this year.
A two-judge bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi heard arguments from both sides. The bench noted that such revisions are permitted under the Indian Constitution and that the last similar exercise in Bihar took place in 2003.
The Election Commission stated that the SIR aims to cover approximately 7.9 crore citizens. It further clarified that the process will not rely exclusively on Aadhaar or Voter ID cards, responding to concerns about exclusions and documentation.
More than ten petitions have been filed in the matter, including one by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Several political leaders have also approached the court demanding the withdrawal of the EC order. Among them are RJD MP Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, CPI’s D. Raja, Samajwadi Party’s Harinder Singh Malik, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant, JMM’s Sarfraz Ahmed, and CPI (ML)’s Dipankar Bhattacharya.
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Niqab incident: Nitish Kumar perhaps revealing his true colours, says J-K CM
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature.
"Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means.
"We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act (of Kumar) is also wrong.
"If the (Bihar) chief minister did not want to hand over the order to her (Muslim woman), they could have kept her aside. However, to humiliate her like this is totally wrong," the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Kumar stirred a huge controversy after he removed the face veil of a Muslim woman at a function earlier this week.
